Category Archives: Red Mountain

Barrister Beautiful-Part 2

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This is the second post in a two-part series about our recent trip to Barrister Winery in Spokane. The first post tells the story of Barrister’s unique “train-settling style” of winemaking, the signature style of soft mouthfeel and gentle tannins, and other information. Now here are some details about the beautiful wines that we tasted at Barrister.

 

2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Klipsun Vineyard ($19)
This single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and refreshing, with notes of citrus and the minerality that you might expect from wine fermented for two months in 100% stainless steel. We’ve always said that we never met a grape from Red Mountain that we didn’t like, and this is no exception. This Sauv Blanc captures the power of Red Mountain fruit, which comes from old vines planted in 1982. A true summer sipper!
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Columbia Crest Reserve Wines

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We are big fans of Columbia Crest wines — from the special reserve wines to the value H3 label, which we’ve written about often. So it was not surprising when the recent reserve vintages — 2013 Walter Clore Private Reserve Red Wine and 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon — were such a pleasure to drink.
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DeLille Cellars Crushes It with 2014 Four Flags Cab Sauvignon

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The 2014 DeLille Cellars Four Flags Cabernet Sauvignon follows up the impressive 2013 vintage, and showcases the depth and structure resulting from Red Mountain grapes. Since its first vintage in 2010, executive winemaker Chris Upchurch has crafted a beautiful wine that becomes more and more powerful with each year.

This 2014 beauty exhibits the classic structure of Cabernet Sauvignon from four Red Mountain vineyards. According to DeLille Cellars:

“Grand Ciel (42%) brings elegance and purity of fruit while Upchurch (31%) demonstrates rich, savory, and mouthwatering character. Ciel du Cheval (19%) contributes structure, black fruits and minerality balanced by the commanding, ripe flavors from Klipsun (8%).”
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Wind Rose Cellars

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Wind Rose Cellars is a boutique winery in Sequim, Washington, owned by husband-and-wife team, David Volmut and Jennifer States. Their focus is to make top-quality, food-driven wine from Italian varieties grown here — including Barbera, Primitivo, Pinot Grigio, Orange Muscat and the rare-in-Washington Dolcetto and Nebbiolo.

We recently sampled two bottles of their latest releases.

Wind Rose 2013 Primitivo ($25)
Sourced from Stonetree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope, this is an expressive Primitivo that has both structure and depth. It is blended with a small amount of Barbera to bring some acidity to the wine for aging and finish.

The nose is pretty, with notes of strawberry, lilacs and herbs, moving on to flavors of tart cherries, strawberries and blackberries, with hints of cocoa in the finish. Pair it with grilled meats, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna or other tomato-based dishes.

It came as no surprise that this tasty wine took home a bronze at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Even the label on the bottle is beautiful.

Wind Rose 2014 Omaggio Barbera ($33)
Wind Rose Cellars produced this lovely 100% Barbera with grapes sourced from Red Heaven Vineyard on Red Mountain. Crisp and fruit-forward, the Omaggio Barbera has simple flavors, structure and depth; it is approachable now but will become better with age.

With aromas of mocha, coffee and cherries, this Barbera opens to flavors of fruit, caramel and espresso, with a lingering finish. The Omaggio will pair well with grilled meats, chicken parmesan, pizza, pasta or even grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

Samples provided by Wind Rose Cellars.

While Wind Rose Cellars’ speciality is Italian wines, they also make small batches of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Grenache, sourced from Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope and Yakima Valley.

If you’re ever on the Olympic peninsula, stop by their tasting room, which becomes a wine bar in the evenings, and features live music on Friday and Saturday nights. As a result, Wind Rose Cellars is said to have the best nightlife in Sequim.

Cheers!
Margot and Dave